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I have read several books and accounts of both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and I feel secure is saying that Junger does a better job of taking you inside the mind of a soldier then anything else I have read, even solders’ own personal accounts of the war.

The author spent time with the same group of soldiers in remote Afghanistan off and on over a period of 15 months. During this time he went out on patrols with them, was with them during firefights, and endured endless hours of boredom. And he was really able to translate what it was like to be there with them and what those men were going through.

Junger broke down his book into three themes/parts: Fear, Killing and Love. And each part of the book sort of focused on that theme in the soldiers daily life from fear of dying or failing fellow soldiers, to killing enemies, and the love soldiers had for each other and for fighting.

All in all I really enjoyed reading this book. It can be a little tough to follow at times unless you can get a mental picture of the geography of the land Junger talks about. As the action takes place in an area of hills and valleys in Afghanistan. Also the author has a tendency to flash forward and flash back a little bit when telling a story and that can disrupt the narrative a little bit, but other than those two minor quibbles I found the book to be very engrossing, intriguing, informative and overall entertaining. If you are interested in books about on the ground modern warfare I think you will enjoy this book.